With November behind us, let’s take a look at the top 10 stories covered by Architecture & Design this month. Click on the title to read the full story, and let us know which ones were your favourites – or what else we should have covered.

1. Winners of Top 100 Trusted Brands in architecture and design revealed

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Architecture & Design has announced the results of its Trusted Brands 2018 survey and revealed Australia’s best brands in the architecture, building, construction, and design industries. With 6,000 votes counted, Weathertex beat over 600 other participating brands to come up on top for the second consecutive survey.

2. The “new age” childcare centre making waves in architecture

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The Margaret Cribb Early Learning Centre is a childcare centre at the University of Queensland (UQ) St. Lucia campus Brisbane which operates under the famed Reggio Emilio early childcare education curriculum.

3. Grand Pavilion: Ageing in style

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The clients were a couple who were looking to maintain their freedom and independence in retirement. Grand Pavilion is a built solution; a “shed” in the rear yard to serve as a resort of privacy and independence.

4. Sawmill House: When architecture meets sculpture

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Designed for a sculptor based in regional Victoria, Sawmill House is, fittingly, a hand-crafted upgrade of his existing rustic and bohemian abode. The home is an example of how Australian building materials can be used in new and innovative ways.

5. Gravity Tower: A unique response to housing in a flood zone

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Fisherman's Bend has some level of flood risk, requiring innovative design, such as the use of car park flood barriers and a sacrificial flood zone within the building.

6. Bridging old and new in a lush coastal home

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Nestled into a tranquil coastal landscape, the elegant existing three-bedroom house required rejuvenation, updated amenity and an extension to meet the needs of its new owners, while retaining the spirit of the house they fell in love with.

7. The sculpted corten form that frames the landscape perfectly

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The architect decided to use the same material – Corten - for all facets of the exterior, giving the building an object quality, like a folded piece of sculpture.

8. Unique geometric extension to an Italian-style terrace house

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Hatherlie is a late 19th century terrace house of individual heritage significance, located in the inner city suburb of North Fitzroy. Originally constructed for the financier Samuel Lazarus, the building forms an important backdrop to Australia’s cultural history.

9. An off-grid sustainable haven in country Victoria

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South-east of Melbourne in Prom Country Victoria, an off-grid dwelling was designed and built with the goal of reconnecting the clients to nature. 

10. Reimagining the ‘stereotypical backyard’ as the heart of the home

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The Willisdene house leverages Australia’s largest latent asset – the stereotypical backyard – to create a new heart for the dwelling and family, re-conceptualise the relationship between the house and garden, and to embed landscape in the ritual of everyday life.